


strawberries and cigarettes (for the long nights)

by sunflower_8



Series: they'll build their own world with the strings of love [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Cigarettes, Crying, Cuddles, Domestic Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Kissing, M/M, Smoking, but all i can write is angst, i attempt to write fluff, so three cheers to awkward kissing scenes, they deserve the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-19 05:57:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19969162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower_8/pseuds/sunflower_8
Summary: someday





	strawberries and cigarettes (for the long nights)

the night sky blankets the town in starlight and adds shimmer to the forest as the grandfather clock ticks to eleven pm. the canopy of trees is still so dark, but little rays of light hit the forest ground as squirrels and birds stare in wonder. the world is still and quiet as the working day comes to a close, but dandelions still sway in the soft wind and fireflies continue to flicker and illuminate the twilight. the street lights hang solemnly, almost protecting those who wander the streets in late hours. on this night (and many others), the street lights watch as shuichi saihara jumps over a worn oak fence and heads for the forest outskirts.

he always attempts to be discreet in his leaving, but his uncle and aunt are aware of his late night endeavors. his uncle was a detective, after all, and even an apprentice could tell that shuichi left often to meet with someone he cares about greatly. neither of them seem to mind; they turn a blind eye as shuichi makes his way past the dusty dirt road and into the forest. he only has to take a few steps before he hears a voice:

“shuichi! what a surprise seeing you here!”

shuichi turns just in time for kokichi ouma to wrap his arms around him. shuichi smiles, running his fingers through the messy purple hair as he replies, “you told me to meet you here?”

“you must be mistaken, good sir!” kokichi pulls away from the embrace, giving shuichi a sly grin, “i believe i was meant to be meeting with the prime minister? discussing, y’know, foreign policy.”

“ah, i see. my mistake,” shuichi replies absentmindedly, averting his eyes to the small object in kokichi’s hand, “what’s that?”

in lieu of a reply, he brings a small pale hand up to jingle car keys. shuichi raised an eyebrow, “you don’t have a car.”

“i stole one,” kokichi deadpans, grabbing shuichi’s hand and tugging him towards the town. “c’mon, we’re going on a road trip!”

shuichi hesitates. “should i have mentioned this to my uncle? he might be worried...” 

“actually, this road trip will only last, like, an hour. it’s not like i’m kidnapping you, that’s so tedious.” kokichi rolls his eyes. the raven-haired boy chuckles in response, following the other towards a familiar indigo car sitting on an abandoned road. shuichi bites his lip, trying to recall where he had seen this car, before realizing that this car belonged to kokichi’s father, who definitely didn’t know that his son was in possession of it. 

shuichi opens the passenger side in silence, watching kokichi open the car door and start the car. in the quiet, shuichi tentatively asks, “will he be mad?”

“who?” the change in kokichi’s expression proved that he knew exactly what shuichi was hinting at, but he feigned ignorance.

“your dad.”

“oh,” small fingers tap rapidly against the steering wheel as kokichi begins to drive, “he won’t notice. besides, even if i didn’t take the car, he would still find another reason to be mad at me.”

“i’m sorry.”

he shakes his head firmly. “don’t apologize. it’s not your fault.”

the car fills with silence as kokichi drives through abandoned, windy roads. he turns on a single headlight (the other one is broken) as the streetlights fade away. shuichi hums a tune under his breath; a song he remembers his friend singing, but he doesn’t recall the title. 

it’s only a few minutes before the car comes to a sudden stop, and kokichi hops out.

“we’re in the middle of nowhere, kokichi.” shuichi looks around to see a plethora of trees on his right, accompanied with empty fields on his other side. wildflowers bring color to the grass, attracting small insects to dance along fragile petals. the quiet but present noises of the town in which the two lived are far away, and the only sound shuichi can hear is kokichi opening a soda can and hopping onto the roof of the car.

“just wanted to get away from the town,” kokichi mumbles, holding out a hand to pull shuichi onto the roof and scooting over so he has some space.

“mm.” shuichi looks at the star-filled sky, trying to connect constellations. “you don’t like that place, do you?”

“...no. i want to leave it someday. just steal some cash from my dad and hitch a ride on some random train.” shuichi had heard that sentiment from kokichi before. while their teacher was discussing some topic in history, shuichi had seen kokichi look up the cost of train tickets under his desk. another time, when kokichi’s parents were gone on a business trip and shuichi stayed over in his bedroom, and he had noticed that the room was plain and vacant, but there was a single duffel bag underneath kokichi’s bed. it didn’t take a detective to connect the dots.

“ah. will you leave when you’re eighteen?”

kokichi puts his soda down, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, “if i could. you wouldn’t mind if i smoked, right?”

“i mean, no? i didn’t know you smoked though.”

“i usually don’t.” he shrugs. “felt like it tonight.”

shuichi looks over at kokichi with concern, noticing that his purple eyes were filled with tears. kokichi rarely expresses emotion to anyone, but as time progressed, he became more vulnerable with shuichi. it’s hard to lie to shuichi, and there’s only so much one person could fake.

“would you come with me?”

“what?” 

kokichi doesn’t look at shuichi, but he continues quietly, “if i left town, would you come with me?”

“i…” shuichi has considered it many times, if he was being honest. he doesn’t want to be without kokichi, that’s for certain, but he also has a promise to his uncle that he would carry on the family detective business. his uncle knows about kokichi, though; so surely he would understand if shuichi left?

“you don’t have to say yes,” kokichi blows smoke, blinking rapidly, “it’s fine, shuichi-”

“i think i would.”

“...really?” kokichi looks over at shuichi, his eyes wide with shock, “you aren’t just saying that, right? it’s a big commitment, and i don’t know who would want to live with me that long-”

“don’t say that,” shuichi places a hand on kokichi’s cheek, brushing away stray tears that had escaped while he speaks. “i would love to spend the rest of my life with you, y’know? that sounds really serious, i’m not asking you to marry me-”

“i wouldn’t mind if you were,” kokichi whispers, his voice shaking.

shuichi smiles, “someday. someday we can ditch this town and get married and be away from everything. i’ll get you away from your parents and somewhere safe, i promise.”

the tears fall down kokichi’s face more rapidly, and shuichi gently wraps him in a hug. kokichi throws the unlit cigarette blunt on the pavement before falling into his soulmate's arms. small sobbing noises left kokichi’s lips, but his staggering breath attempts to silence most of them. shuichi whispers soft reassurances to him, kissing his forehead and pulling him closer. one of kokichi’s hands reaches out for shuichi’s, who gladly intertwines their fingers. for what could have been five minutes or an hour, the two of them clung to each other, a mess of whispers and pain and _love._

when the tears stop falling and his breathing steadies, kokichi wipes his face and cuddles into shuichi.

“thanks.”

“no problem.” shuichi meets kokichi’s eyes, and suddenly a pair of lips meets his. the two of them rarely kiss, but every time they do it feels like a promise. his lips taste like a mixture of strawberries and cigarettes, and shuichi feels high on him.

“i love you,” shuichi sighs contently. he sees his partner’s eyes widen; it was a hard, heavy phrase for the both of them. shuichi opens his mouth to apologize, when:

“i...i love you too. so much,” kokichi whispers, laughing as shuichi’s face turns bright red.

as the night comes to a close, surrounding the two with peace and bliss, the two succumb to sleep, still in each others arms. neither of them know what their future holds, but not too far in the horizon, there is freedom and happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> so this is in a series with "fireflies at dusk (you're the one i trust)" so that's nifty. although fireflies was a title i came up with while half of this title is from the song "strawberries and cigarettes" by troye. the inconsistency is obnoxious but i like the titles so i suppose i shall live.
> 
> anyways, i'm not a huge fan of this. i feel like it was poorly written all in all, but i hope someone likes it.
> 
> here's my reminder that this isn't supposed to be romanticized. if you are going through abuse, please reach out to someone. there's hope. things will get better. 
> 
> have a nice day, everyone. comments are appreciated.


End file.
